Agricultural News
Planted Canola Acres in OK Expected to Drop in 2018 as Farmers Miss Their Window of Opportunity
Fri, 13 Oct 2017 16:46:16 CDT
Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Associate Farm Director Carson Horn caught up with Ron Sholar of Great Plains Canola this week to get an update on the progress of the state's canola planting for the 2018 crop. Sholar says that due to unfavorable weather and planting conditions, it is not likely Oklahoma will enter this growing season with quite as many acres as seen in 2016. Listen to their complete conversation, by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below.
"We were feeling pretty good about our chances - even getting an increase in acres this fall. But then Mother Nature has had a lot to say about that," Sholar said. "We know now here in mid-October, that we're not going to have as many acres as were planned. Even with an average crop coming out of 2017, there was still substantial optimism with the crop. We've never questioned that. Part of that is because wheat continues to be in the doldrums, price wise."
However, the window to sign up for crop insurance began September 10th, at which time fields were far too dry to begin planting throughout most of the state, prompting growers to hold off from planting. From that point on, Sholar says excessive rain, as much as 10 inches in some places, prevented much planting form happening and since, the window for crop insurance has closed.
The fields that have been planted, though, especially up and around Grant County, Sholar reports, are looking very good. But he says there is a big gap between those acres and canola that has been put in after the rains.
"So, we don't know what the acres are going to be," he said. "We'll know here over the next few weeks as we get numbers from FSA, and doing our own surveys - we'll have a pretty good idea of what we've got, but we know that it's going to be less than it's been for the last two years for sure."
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